High-endurance solar-blind photodetectors using AlN on Si substrates for extreme harsh environment applications

In this paper, the metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) Schottky AlN photodetectors (PDs) on Si substrates show a dark current as low as ~1 nA at a bias up to 200 V. Excellent thermal stability and radiation hardness of solar-blind AlN MSM PDs are achieved. The working temperature is up to 300 °C and the radiation tolerance is up to 10¹³ cm^-2 of 2 MeV proton fluences for AlN MSM PDs. The results demonstrate the high promise of AlN as an active material for solar-blind DUV photodetection in extremely harsh environments.